Missionary Blog Watch

What would you do if your home was washed away?  That's the question facing thousands in the community of Gorom Gorom, in the West African country of Burkina Faso.  The community was already struggling with years of drought.  Suddenly, huge amounts of rain fell, totally washing away some villages and about half of the houses in Gorom Gorom.

Now, the people have no protection from the mosquitos (which carry malaria), and no way to plant new crops because the topsoil was washed away.  One of our bloggers is on the ground in Gorom Gorom, helping to organize some of the relief efforts.  You can read about the disaster, see pictures, and read about what's being done at under the acacias.  The most recent entry is called Gorom-Gorom Food Aid Distribution.

You can read a news article at Reuters - BURKINA FASO: Tents needed to house homeless after devastating floods.

¤ To reference this entry use this permalink

|

Comments scattering in the wind?
September 6, 2006 11:29

How do you know who else has commented on your comment?  How do you remember what comments you've left, and where?  Technology is rushing to catch up with the exploding world of blogging.  One of the first to really address these issues related to commenting is cocomment.  Using cocomment, you can keep track of all your comments everywhere, follow comment conversations in one central location, and even enhance your own website by adding comment related features.

Simply sign up for a new free account.  Then, if you use mozilla or firefox, add a bookmarklet to your browser.  Now, just click on it whenever you're about to leave a comment, and it will track that post's comments automatically for you.  There's lots more - click the button below for more ideas.

Finally, go to a missionary blogger's website, and leave a comment.  It's a great help to any blogger to know who's listening and what they think, even if it's only a short comment.

¤ To reference this entry use this permalink

|

Photo journals from several continents!
September 9, 2006 18:45

I'm starting to get into photo journals.  Not making them, but seeing them.  What I mean by a photo journal (and I'm just making this definition up) is a single post with a series of photos with short captions (in other words, some text but not much).  I like this approach as opposed to the one-photo-per-entry approach, which tends to clog up the feed.  If you're reading in a news reader, those posts might be split up.  But an all-in-one-post is short, clear, and interesting.  So here are some recent examples:

I stole the name - photo journal, from .:. The Harer's live journal in Mexico - these are a perfect example.  First, Exploring Mexico With Friends: A Photo Journal, and next Round 2 - A Photo Journal.

Some home schooling in action (Romania) - Science and Math

A tour of the house in India - Chronicles of an "Indian" Housewife: Our House

This looks like fun (Brazil) - 1st Indigenous Games Of Tocantins

Here's your chance to laugh at Terror (Guatemala) - Random Pictures

Photos of the home village in Russia - More Photos and More photos II

¤ To reference this entry use this permalink

|

Come visit Papua New Guinea!
September 12, 2006 21:36

There are many countries that don't have a page of their own here yet, so it's nice to do a quick feature here at Missionary Blog Watch once in a while of individual countries.  For example, how about Papua New Guinea?

Yes, there's lots of action from missionaries in PNG, and missionaries on their way.  Here's a sampling:

Adam and Julie Martin have a beautiful site (in my opinion one of the best designed missionary sites I've seen - go there for some ideas!) with more than one blog.  Check out Bush Notes and Praises & Prayers.

Trevor and Estelle Burns bring us Burning Isles.

More Burns!  Check out Burns Abroad.

Getting ready to go - Kurt, Johanna and Kassia Metzger!

Finally, with the Mibu people, Joe and Brooke Tartaglia.

¤ To reference this entry use this permalink

|

More new blogs
September 18, 2006 07:46

There have been so many new blogs bursting onto the scene it's been hard to keep up.  We're now starting to get close to 300 blogs!  Here are some of the newest missionary blogs - why not stop by and let them know you saw them here?  ;-)

Stop by ToddSpot.  Todd is preparing to go to the field - read his Prayer Requests.

They've been in Haiti short term, now preparing to go full time - read all about it in An Open Letter at Our Hearts for Haiti

In an early post, Derek y Lily Paul tell us a little about Mexican Candy

"On the borders of two nations" - visit Missions Beyond Borders.  Today Joey wrote about Rainy Days and God's Faithfulness.  Joey has another blog called Missions and Theology.  Today he wrote about Making Merit.

And here's an appropriate title - Where in the world are the wilsons?  How about that - looks like they're in Papua New Guinea!

¤ To reference this entry use this permalink

|

Care packages
September 26, 2006 08:22

Photo courtesy of Irish Typepad

It's not just missionaries - most people travelling away from home love to get a care package.  You know, something that only Mom can make, or something you can't buy in Mongolia.  Perhaps something for ministry, or the kids, or just something for fun.

I've seen missionaries writing about care packages.  Everything from Pop Tarts to balloons to children's books.  There's care packages sent because people are going through a particularly hard time - for example, when other shipments mysteriously fail to arrive.

Sending a missionary care package is an art form.  I've seen warning that duty may be charged on what you send.  The Brooks family has some great ideas for care packages for them, but also some warnings about what might not be a good idea.  I remember when the Knightly family posted a similar explanation.

What I would like to do is include a page here for visitors with ideas for missionary care packages.  Obviously, some things are country-specific, but anything could give people a general idea what's appreciated.

There was a day when used tea bags and torn hand-me-downs were sent to missionaries.  Today with so many things available globally, the needs of a traveller are much more specific (not that torn tea bags and soggy hand-me-downs were ever all that generous an idea.  Er...yeah).

So if you're one of our bloggers travelling overseas, here's what I'd like you to do.  Write a post with the phrase "care package" in the title.  Write about what you'd love to get in a care package, but explain why (so I know what is country-specific).  You could also talk about packaging, ways to ship, what not to send, etc if that's an issue.  Think big, small, unusual and creative.  Think ministry-related, personal enjoyment or family encouragement.  Then mention this post (so that your readers know you're not just having a greed-attack).

Then check back here in a few weeks, and I'll try to post the best ideas so that our visitors know how to help you.

Care packages are now a strategic way to encourage and be a part of ministry around the world.  Let's see what our bloggers have to say about them...

¤ To reference this entry use this permalink

|